Esquestria: The House of the Sun - A pony cultist experience

[Sveta08]

Huh.
Never actually took a look over there.

Welp, there goes a good few hours. Be back shortly.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Yeah an actual functional cult is a lot of pretty powerful and useful benefit. They get like 200 bits to spend on cult stuff every turn. They have not paid out of pocket for rituals in in the last 6 turns.

 

[ses]

Do we have any information at all about what the reward table for visiting the mansus looks like? Iirc we've completely rejected the idea of visiting places that aren't new explorations under the assumption they'd be worthless?

 

[Sveta08]

Do we have any information at all about what the reward table for visiting the mansus looks like? Iirc we've completely rejected the idea of visiting places that aren't new explorations under the assumption they'd be worthless?

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Cannot provide that myself. Can provide some info.
There was a notice that due to Velvets ascent, she either must continue to explore new areas of the Manus or Glory
... Or risk penalties. And we try to avoid those.

Can't quite remember where that was said. I know it was somewhere around the Red Church

 

[ses]

Cannot provide that myself. Can provide some info.
There was a notice that due to Velvets ascent, she either must continue to explore new areas of the Manus or Glory
... Or risk penalties. And we try to avoid those.

Can't quite remember where that was said. I know it was somewhere around the Red Church

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Aftermath of the encounter with Wolf Divided, patched in to prevent voters from stubbornly refusing to scale and causing a slow game over after the trauma from the stain on the soul

Also not even remotely answering the question I asked. I was asking about spending normal AP on something like visiting the orchard/lodge.

 

[Nevermort]

How the heck do they have a +39 Cadre bonus? I don't have an SV account and don't plan on making one so I can't participate there.

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They had dedicated Loremaster who actually worked on cult library, until he learned too much and was fed to the bees. I don't think that Velvet spend even one action on writing Lore manuscripts in all her time at the job. When Master had enough and ordered Velvet to start writing them players decided that it was sufficient reason to leave cult early

 

[Maer]

[X] You will tell him that you forgive him. And deep down, you do not resent him.

 

[Greymere]

How the heck do they have a +39 Cadre bonus? I don't have an SV account and don't plan on making one so I can't participate there.

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We have a working cult that is halfway to All-3. I think it works the same as the Wildhoof Club's cadre so it is kinda like this.

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I think the scaling works differently. Iirc, the cadre bonus here was on a per-Lore basis. So if the cult had Knock 3 and Winter 1, then the cadre bonus for Knock and Winter would be +21 (15+1+2+3) and +16 (15+1), respectively. Witherbrine instead went with the cadre not having a baseline bonus at all and instead all the Lore level bonuses pool together into a single mega-bonus to everything. Which has had the effect of trivializing a lot of ritual DCs.

 

[Nevermort]

I think the scaling works differently. Iirc, the cadre bonus here was on a per-Lore basis. So if the cult had Knock 3 and Winter 1, then the cadre bonus for Knock and Winter would be +21 (15+1+2+3) and +16 (15+1), respectively. Witherbrine instead went with the cadre not having a baseline bonus at all and instead all the Lore level bonuses pool together into a single mega-bonus to everything. Which has had the effect of trivializing a lot of ritual DCs.

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I thought it was just copied from here:

-Jade Whistle's Cadre: +15 to rituals performed using the cult's assets. Each Level of cult Lore increases this bonus by its own value, cumulatively. (Level 1 -> +1, Level 2 -> +3 total, Level 3 -> +6 total, etc)

It is actually not clear if +15 is base stat (why?) or if it just already calculated via the way it is described in second sentence. That said even if they are different methods, if you look at our library pre burning then it still only +16 if you use Witherbrine method.

 

[Greymere]

It is actually not clear if +15 is base stat (why?) or if it just already calculated via the way it is described in second sentence. That said even if they are different methods, if you look at our library pre burning then it still only +16 if you use Witherbrine method.

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+15 is 100% the base stat. The Lore bonus was then applied on top on a per Lore basis. From our first Baldomare summoning:

[Secret Histories Roll: 17 + 13 (Magic) + 40 (SECRET HISTORIES Level 4) + 16 (Cadre) = 86]

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[Knock Roll: 29 + 13 (Magic) + 30 (KNOCK Level 3) + 18 (Cadre) = 90]

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[Lantern Roll: 49 + 13 (Magic) + 30 (LANTERN Level 3) + 16 (Cadre) + 30 (Sacrifice) = 138]

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You can pretty obviously see it here. SH and Lantern had a Level 1 bonus, and Knock had a Level 2 bonus.

 

[Nevermort]

+15 is 100% the base stat. The Lore bonus was then applied on top on a per Lore basis. From our first Baldomare summoning:
You can pretty obviously see it here. SH and Lantern had a Level 1 bonus, and Knock had a Level 2 bonus.

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And yet base cadre bonus was not always +15. It was +10 during Luna's Path through Nightmares ritual. And I don't remember what caused it to increase. Is it tied to Ponyville's cult infiltration instead of Library levels?

 

[Greymere]

And yet base cadre bonus was not always +15. It was +10 during Luna's Path through Nightmares ritual. And I don't remember what caused it to increase. Is it tied to Ponyville's cult infiltration instead of Library levels?

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Jade trained them more, iirc.

 

[Faraway-R]

They had dedicated Loremaster who actually worked on cult library, until he learned too much and was fed to the bees. I don't think that Velvet spend even one action on writing Lore manuscripts in all her time at the job. When Master had enough and ordered Velvet to start writing them players decided that it was sufficient reason to leave cult early

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Well that's obviously because Velvet is a LoreMaster not a Scribe, she focused on Mastery of Lores.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Our fellow quest also has entirely new avenues to explore because Worm is already a "bad world" by design.

As in, over there we are a lot more willing to stay in the cult (which also means committing to the cult, and spending resources investing in the cult) because, well, the cult is actually not the biggest evil out there.

Here, Equestria is an objectively good place (it is the setting for a children's show, after all). And the "Unknowable Eldritch Being" in the background here is Harmony. There, almost everyone is involved in crimes or shady deals one way or the other, and the "Unknowable Eldritch Being" pulling the strings is, well, Scion, and the Shards, and whatever else you can call the aliens.

So, for all that I do not regret or resent how you guys, well, derailed the quest in a sense (we never even got to see Infrastructure Bonuses for the cult, for example), it is still nice to see an actual cult at work. Also refreshing to see another writer being able to say "yeah, your cult can do X" without having to bend over backwards to trace an interesting storyline where the main character can still progress and be relevant



Anyways. Back over here, this vote is about to end. It was a non-contested landslide, which I kind of expected to be honest. Still, votes like these need to pass through your hands, even if the conclusion is predictable.

I hope you are all doing well. See you all soon!

 

[Biowolf]

[X] You will tell him that you forgive him. And deep down, you do not resent him.

Honestly we have so many bigger problems. It's better to forgive and move on at this point.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Witherbrine's Quest also has more lenient requirements for increasing a Cult's Lore Levels, if I recall remotely correctly. Having trouble finding where their requirements are laid out though.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

To no-one's surprise.

Scheduled vote count started by OurLadyOfWires on Apr 14, 2025 at 4:29 PM, finished with 75 posts and 38 votes.

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  33 people have voted

  [X] You will tell him that you forgive him. And deep down, you do not resent him.

  • ses
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  8 people have voted

  [X] You will not forgive him. But deep down, you do not resent him either.

  • LieutenantSpirit
  • spiderhellian
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  • Sveta08
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  2 people have voted

  [X] You will tell him that you forgive him. But deep down, you still resent him.

  • Shaper47
  • Alan975

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

[X] You will tell him that you forgive him. And deep down, you do not resent him.



It is late at night. So late, in fact, that it might as well be called early morning.

The moon is nowhere to be seen. From here, at least. Hidden as it is behind one of the annex buildings of the estate, already creeping so close to the horizon it will soon stop moving.

Still, on the balcony overseeing the garden, an old pony sits on a chair.

An old pony sits, nursing a long-spent cigar, and another pony… waits. And for all that the sitting pony is old, and grizzled, and maybe even tired, the one who is waiting by the shadows is old, older and older still.

On the balcony overseeing the central garden of the Velvet estate, two old ponies wait for something.

But they are under no illusion that they are keeping each other company.

"She really is a good filly," the old -youngest- pony says, reminiscing on his memory of just a few hours ago. When the night was still not as cold, and his surroundings still not quite as harsh.

Still, no reply comes. No reply comes, nor is expected.

But even that admission, even the escape of those words that could no longer live just inside his head, are yet another sign.

Another sign that it is almost time. Another sign that, soon, there will be nothing else left for him to say.

However, he is not ready. At least not yet.

There are still some final things he must do, before he is ready to go.

"You have been there with me all along, haven't you? No physically, I know. But still, you have been with me ever since we first met. Right there. Right behind me. Watching. Waiting… Judging," he says.

Still no response. He might as well be talking to the wind. He might as well be entirely alone, and just imagining the presence he knows is waiting in the shadow.

But he knows better than that. He knows he is not alone. He knows that he cannot avoid that presence, that he cannot avoid him, any more than he can avoid the passage of time.

He is, after all, inevitable.

"Well, I guess this is it," he says, letting go of the cigar and straightening his back. "I no longer have any regrets worth carrying, and I no longer have the will to pick up any new ones. And if she is willing to leave them behind, then I might as well do the same."

He says that, and then he looks up towards the sky. Wondering how different they are today than when he was still just a colt. Did the starts change? Or did they stay the same?

And which option would make him feel older? Which would be worse? To know that the stars remained perfect and unmoving, while he grew up and grew tired? Or to know that even the stars were not free from the passage of time?

He wasn't sure. He never really looked up to the sky that much.

And he didn't care. It was not like he was going to start doing that tonight anyways.

"So, what should I do? What happens next?" he said.

And for the first time since they parted ways, the presence that had been hounding him ever since then spoke.

"I do not know what you should do. But I know what you will do," the presence, his cold and unwelcome companion, said. With a voice filled with certainty that only the very old can have.

With a tone that made it clear that, whatever comes next, is also inevitable.

Because the voice, that voice, had already seen it happen countless times before. And tonight was just another scratch in that long, long tally of cause and effect.

"You will put your affairs in order. You will appoint successors where they need to be appointed. And you will ensure your efforts are continued even after you are gone. And then… you will come to me."

Even that answer was something that, somehow, Velvet Steppes was already expecting.

Because ever since he first met that stallion, ever since he first heard that voice, he knew this day would come.

After all, on that first and only time he ever saw that stallion, he also saw him for what he truly was. He saw that, in the depths of those cold and hard eyes, there was an even deeper bedrock of discipline. Of the will to do what needs to be done. Of the certainty that he has a purpose, as long as he is following his orders. Of the desire, the need, to be the dirty hoof that pushes away the filth.

He saw… what he could be.

And the older stallion, in turn, saw what he once was.

And that is why Velvet Steppes knew, ever since that day, that this was coming. He knew that this was inevitable. Because even though ponies like Steppes now live in a world where they cannot stumble and fall down the path that leads to this fate, he also knows that this monolith from the past somehow crawled back into the present, and set his eyes on Steppes.

So now, he only has two choices.

"When that happens. When I have done everything I need to do. Will you kill me? Will I die?" Velvet Steppes asks.

And the answer, again, is obvious.

"In all the ways that matter, yes. You will die. But whether your body continues to move, or you fail and break, will be for you to decide."

"I see," Steppes says. Not because he agrees or disagrees, and not because he has accepted those words like an order. But instead, because it is…

…inevitable.





In the following morning, your uncle Steppes came to you. He looked old, and tired, but less so than he did the night before. He told you he is going to stay in your house, for a little longer, while he "puts some affairs in order".

Following that, he kept to his room. Your daughters eventually told you he spent the next several days writing countless letters, and your servants reported he received a lot of visitors.

Whatever he is doing, it is certainly the kind of business that takes some time. And a small part of you thinks you know what he is doing, although you have decided not to think about it. Still, he told you he will ask you for a favor soon enough.

You can no longer "Ask uncle Steppes for favors". But come next turn, uncle Steppes will give you something.

Biedde, an unbefriended Name and servant of the Colonel, has done what his kind is wont to do: He has taken another step.

 

[ses]

@OurLadyOfWires if we choose "Get our Hoofs Dirty" for our Commissioner action, does that mean we're forced to spend AP to join the Tall Tale expedition if the constables go to Tall Tale, or is that covered by our commissioner action spent?

Cause I was going through potential plans for next turn that used Baldomare's action on a max Lantern influence so we could study, and had a single spare action so I figured "What the hell, we might as well take Biedde's edge sacrament with a Servant/Risen cover your bases action". I was originally going to send Biedde on the book hunt expedition but then I remembered we'd get the Forge Name's action next turn and the Forge Name can go on the book hunt with Axe so Biedde can give us that max edge influence.

And uh... having a max lantern and max edge influence on the turn we raid Tall Tale works out pretty nicely? If we get to go there alongside our constables we should be able to utterly destroy Tall Tale, get a bunch more Bureau loyalty, and maybe teach them a few things on the down low

 

[Greymere]

So now, he only has two choices.

"When that happens. When I have done everything I need to do. Will you kill me? Will I die?" Velvet Steppes asks.

And the answer, again, is obvious.

"In all the ways that matter, yes. You will die. But whether your body continues to move, or you fail and break, will be for you to decide."

"I see," Steppes says. Not because he agrees or disagrees, and not because he has accepted those words like an order. But instead, because it is…

…inevitable.

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Biedde, an unbefriended Name and servant of the Colonel, has done what his kind is wont to do: He has taken another step.

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Hm. This is probably not something we'll like the outcome of.

...I kind of wonder what would happen if we let Biedde's summoning lapse? He's not like Mareinette, he doesn't stick around if we choose not to renew the contract.

 

[spiderhellian]

Oh

Was this.. inevitable? Is it that nothing left to tie you up means nothing left to bind you? Nothing more to grieve or atone for, nothing left to keep you there?

Though maybe this was how it was always going to go.

 

[DelightedOne]

Biedde, an unbefriended Name and servant of the Colonel, has done what his kind is wont to do: He has taken another step.

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I kinda want to let him go after this, Uncle Steppes being taken by the Colonel is a bit too far for me to handle(we need more Harmony in this house ASAP).

Huh, I wonder if he is trying to make Velvet his rival, the corrivality is basically dead so it would make sense for Biedde to have received orders to restart it, either with him and Velvet or Velvet and Steppes(so glad we forgave him, resenting him would make Biedde even more prepared if I'm right).

...I kind of wonder what would happen if we let Biedde's summoning lapse? He's not like Mareinette, he doesn't stick around if we choose not to renew the contract.

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He would wait for the next pony to reach that high in the Mansus, then continue the plan. He is immortal and he is certainly not a pony anymore, he can wait as long as he needs to.

Well, shit. I liked Biedde but if he's going to harm our family he can get his ass back to the Worm Museum. Hate to see the Biedde haters having been right.

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Oh no, who could guess the murder grandpa, the slave of the god slaver of fascism, absolute authority and cunning would be bad to us.

 

[Nevermort]

Is it time for Uncle Steppes to learn Lore of Edge? As long as he is able to survive hellish training of course. It seems like he may or may not be turned into Colonel puppet in the process too.

 

[Greymere]

Oh no, who could guess the murder grandpa, the slave of the god slaver of fascism, absolute authority and cunning would be bad to us.

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Clearly this means we should scry his dyad partner and befriend them instead, since Biedde is such a stick in the mud

Though I'm not really sure how a Lionsmith Name would feel about us either. We're in a bit of a weird position, in that we hold a high position in the primary authority of Equestria and are actively enforcing it, but also we've invoked the shadow of the Lionsmith before and we're pretty much the opposite of a "force for the status quo", considering our apparent status as a literal metaphysical lynchpin and that getting any victory condition at all necessitates some sort of change in the world at large. We'll, maybe not Harmony, but we don't really know enough about the shape of the Harmony victory to say.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Biedde, an unbefriended Name and servant of the Colonel, has done what his kind is wont to do: He has taken another step.

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Don't you mean he has taken another... Steppe?

Also no Biedde, you do not get to adopt our family members, that's not how this works. Gah, if only Velvet wasn't so blind to what her Names are doing!

But yeah screw Biedde, we should just scry for a Worthy Opponent we'd find morally acceptable to put 6 feet under. There has to be some sort of evil pony strong enough to count out there.

 

[Gordian_Knot]

Mmm, Sombra, Tirek, Tempest. All dangerous, and should theoretically still exist for us to throw hands hooves with.

 

[Nevermort]

Mmm, Sombra, Tirek, Tempest. All dangerous, and should theoretically still exist for us to throw hands hooves with.

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The question would be if we are allowed to bring support for the confrontation. Seems counterintuitive for Edge challenge, but Sacrament option does not mention that it must be one on one fighting. I liked the way we fought Windigo

 

[Greymere]

Guys, guys, we can't let Biedde take Steppes for one very simple reason...

He hasn't even met his third (fourth?) grandchild (edit: not the correct relation) grand-niece/nephew(?) yet!

 

[Demilich]

You lot are overreacting.
It is not horrible, because its inevitable.
It is natural.

 

[AuthorTransient]

Yeah, well. I still don't like it.

Maybe it's my own hubris, but I had thought that, at the very least, Velvet's family would be 'off limits'. That they are hers, and not someone's else. That we had garnered enough strength to protect that. Or at another least, to have an opportunity to delay that.

At a third least - at least we let our uncle be heard. This is like another kind of death, and worse, not one with release.